New York Daily News

21 years of rolling up gangs & dodging hits

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back East.”

The trips soon became routine. Sometimes, Geneste would overpay him just to see if he would return the extra money. His innate honesty helped him rise quickly in the organizati­on, which was buying tons of marijuana and cocaine from the Sinaloa cartel and then reselling it.

Caribe began managing the New York pot trips. With a knack for logistics and arranging safe smuggling routes, he eventually rose to become Geneste’s No. 2, and built up strong underworld contacts.

He drove a Mercedes, wore fancy suits, and moved his family into a big house with a pool. But the immoral nature of the life began to wear on him.

“Tony always told me I would take over, but I became disgusted with the life,” he said. “I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror … I was trapped. They weren’t going to let me just quit.”

Then, on a smuggling run to Detroit in 1996, the RV he was in — which was carrying 30 pounds of pure cocaine — was pulled over in Utah. “I called my wife and said I think I’m going to do something to get out,” he said. “She said, do what you have to do but please come home.”

Caribe arranged a meeting with a Customs special agent — and started talking.

“I told him everything,” he said. “He leaves; I’m laying in bed saying, ‘I pray I did the right thing.’ ”

His informatio­n rang some bells, because a federal prosecutor came back the next day. “He looked at me like I had all the winning lottery numbers,” he said.

From that day on, Caribe was a federal informant pretending to be a major drug dealer to help make big cases. Six months in, he arranged a deal involving 190 kilos of cocaine that resulted in a major prosecutio­n. “This was my niche. I was good at it. I had been in houses full of dope and money. None of it fazed me,” he said.“Going in to many of these buys, you have to believe with every fiber of your being that you are who you say you are. You never, ever deviate from that mindset. The moment you do, your cover is blown.” He’s had hits put out on him, and he and his family had to be moved three times because of threats. Despite the inherent danger, the job hasn’t made him a rich man. Caribe estimates the most he ever made as an informant in one year is $100,000.

“You have to be very patient,” he said. “When they put you in for a reward, it might take a year to get it. It’s kind of like having money in the bank but you can’t touch it.”

Outwardly, Caribe seems like a doting suburban father and husband. He became an ordained minister. His kids are now grown, and amazingly, they still don’t know what he does for a living.

“As they got older, we kept the story that I worked for a large constructi­on company,” he said.

Caribe said he wrote the book in part to finally tell his kids his story, and will finally tell them his closely guarded secret just before the book comes out this week.

“Hopefully this book will speak to this next generation of kids who might want to dabble, or worse, get involved with the business side of drugs, and dissuade them from becoming more of the same statistics,” he said.

 ??  ?? “Confidenti­al Source 96,” new book by ex-smuggler Roman Caribe with help of Robert Cea (below), tells how the reformed criminal turned into an informant helping feds bust major drug operations. NYPD’s Richie Fagan, seen at left with cash stash and...
“Confidenti­al Source 96,” new book by ex-smuggler Roman Caribe with help of Robert Cea (below), tells how the reformed criminal turned into an informant helping feds bust major drug operations. NYPD’s Richie Fagan, seen at left with cash stash and...
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